Method and apparatus to estimate image translation and scale for alignment of forms

Abstract

Method and apparatus to match bounding boxes around text to align forms. The approach is less computationally intensive, and less prone to error than text recognition. For purposes of achieving alignment, information per se is not as important as information location. Information within the bounding boxes is not as critical as is the location of the area which the bounding boxes occupy. Scanning artifacts, missing characters, or noise generally do not affect bounding boxes themselves so much as they do the contents of the bounding boxes. Thus, for purposes of form alignment, the bounding boxes themselves are sufficient. Using bounding boxes also avoids misalignment issues that can result from stray marks on a page, for example, from holes punched in a sheet, or from handwritten notations.